Adjustable bearing for spring motors



E. E. WILKINSON ET AL ADJUSTABLE BEARING FOR SPRING MOTORS July 17 1923- Filed Spt. 4. 1920 Elma Mus [/mer Z. wflk/hson Saul Ara/450m Patented July 17, 1923; i

UNITE A TS.

ELMER E. \VILKINSON AND SAUL ABONSON, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNORS, BY

MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE SILENT MOTOR CORPORATION, OF YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEVJ YORK.

ADJUSTABLE BEARING non srnrne MOTORS.

Application filed September To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ELMER E. VVILKIN- soN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of New York, borough of Brooklyn, county of Kings, and'State of New York, and SAUL Anonsoiv, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of New York, borough of Brooklyn, county of Kings, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Adjustable Bearings for Spring Motors.

Our invention relates generally to adjustable bearings and, although adapted for use wherever shaft bearings are required to be adjusted, is particularly applicable to spring motors used in operating phonographs. j b

It is a common experience in assembling the parts of a spring motor, that the gov-; 'ernor shaft requires careful adjustment in order tobring about the proper engagement between the worm on the shaft and the wornrgear on the turntable shaft. No matter how carefully the bearing holes for the governor shaft are drilled in (the casting of the motor, it is practically impossible to get them so perfect that the worm and worm-gear referred to will be in correct mesh without adjustment, of the governor shaft. For this purpose eccentric bearings have in some instances been em-; ployed for the governor shaft, but it seems to be next to impossible to so adjust the two bearings as to bring them into perfect alignment, with the result that the governor shaft would run slightly askew. While such a small disarrangeinent of the governor shaft might in some instances not interfere withits proper connection with the turntable shaft, it would nevertheless cause the shaft to run unevenly in its bearings.

To overcome these and other objections, we have provided an adjustable bearing which automatically takes care of any disj alignment that may have to be made in the position of the governor shaft to effect the proper connection between the" worm on that shaft and the worm gear on the turntable shaft, and which will allow the governor shaft to run in full bearings in any of its adjusted positions.

Another ob ect of our invention is to provide an adjustable, bearing for the up- 4, 19cc. Serial Noi 408,151.

per end of the turntable shaft, so as" to take up the play which may occur at that BROOKLYN, NEW

To explain the principle ofour invention,

we have illustrated a preferred embodiment in the accompanying drawings in whichi I 1 Fig. 1 shows, a portion'of a phonograph spring motor containing the features of our invention f j r Fig.2 is an enlarged fragmentary view in cross-section approximately on line 22 of Fig. 1, showing one of the adjustable bearings for the governor shaft; 1

Fig. 3 an enlarged end View of one of the bearings; Fig. 4 is an enlarged ball contained in the bearing and into whic extends the end of the shaft; and i Fig. 5 is a detached view in crosssection of a port1on of the ad ustable bearing for;

the turntable shaft.

view of the hollow,

As, our invention is applicable to spring motors of various types, we have not deemed;

it necessary to illustrate any particular construction of motor.

For the purpose of explaining our invention, we need only say that theparts of the motor are supported in a framework or 1 of a phonograph cabinet.

motor springs in a manner well understood by those skilled in the art. The speed of the I turntable shaft 2 is controlled by the usual type of governor indicated as a whole by As the contsruction and operation of this form of governor are well known to the skilled mechanic, no details ofdescription are necessary. We need only say that the governor shaft 3 has a worm 4: which is in mesh with the worm-gear 5 ofthe turntable shaft 2. The governor shaft 3 1s supported.

in bearings indicated as a whole by B, which are mounted 1n the standards 6 of the castlng A.

Owing to the peculiarformation of the worm 4t and the worm gear 5, it is necessary tolhave the governor shaft, 3 in just the proper position to produce a smooth and noiseless engagement between the worm and the worm-gear.- For this it isnearly always its o uter' end the body portion 7 is provided with. av lrnurled finger piece 9, by means of wl iich the bearing is easily turned in its opening. From the other end of .the'body portion 7 extends an eccentric chuck 10 which is screw-threaded on the outside, as

indicatedat 11 in Fig. 2. The chuck 10 is prefei split at diametrically opposite points, as indicated at 12 in Figs. 2 and 3,

fora purpose to be presently explained.

The bodyportion 7 of theb'earing has a hole 13 into which. is driven a pin 14. To secure the pin firmly in the hole, we pronae a roughened head or enlargement 15 atthe inner end-of the pin. henthe pin is driven in, this roughened head is forced into firnrengagement with the wall of the mole-13,, whereby the pin is held in pos1 tion against any possibility of displacement. As seen from Fig. 2, the free or outer end ,iof thepin 14* terminates in the recess or chamber 10 formed within the chuck. In

fthis recess orchamber. is seated a bored ball -,;is. a universally adjustable bearing,

16 having a bore 17 for receiving the end 18 vof the shaft. The bearing ball 16 is adapted" to turn in its seat in the chuck 1n 'everydirection. In other words, the ball 16 i The inner end of the ball 16 rests against the 5 inner end .of the chamber 10 as shown in Fig. 2, so that the ball is always heldat the mouth of the chuck. ready to receive the f end'of theshaft. In operatiomthe ball 16 is stationary, while the end 18 of the governor shaft revolves in the bore 17. The outer end'of the pin lt forms a stop for the inner end of the shaft 3. l/Ve prefer to make the ballg16 of a good bearing material, suqh as phosphor bronze, or the likef \Ve make the ball 16 a trifle larger than the mouth of'the chuck and provide it with slit 19. asshown in Fig. 4. This produces suffic ent resiliency in the ball to allow the zsa ne' to be snapped'into the chuck, and also to permit t tobecontracted or squeezed together, when necessary, for the purpose of {taking up. the wear in the bore 17. For this purpose weprov de a. capQO, havlng interior soreW-threads'21 'to engage the screw- .threads-ll of the chuckv 10. As seen from Fig. .2, the chuck 10 is at its outer end formed with a conical portion 10 adapted the governor sh aft.

to be engaged by the corresperrdingly shaped wall" 20 of the cap 20 when the latter is screwed home on the chuck. By screwing the cap 520 tight on: the" chuck, the wedging action of the wall 20". on the conical portion 10 of thechuclr contracts the chamber 10 The slits 12, previously referred to, render the oh-uclr 1O sufliciently resilient to permit this contraction. By contracting the bearing chamber 10 the resilient ball 16 is squeezed together and the bearing .hole

17 thereof is made correspondingly smaller.

In this simple way, whatever .wear may occur in the bore 17 due to the rotating shaft 3' is readily taken up to insure a steady running of the shaft its bearing. To remove the .ball it is only necessary tonns'crew the cap/20, whereupon the ball is easily forced out of thechuck by simply inserting the point of a suitable instrument in the bore 17.- l

It will be seen from Fig. 4 that the slit. 19 of the ball 16 is diagonal to the axis of the bore 17 l ve prefer this construction, because, if the slit 19 were parallel with the bore 17, there will be formed a pair of spaced shoulders or edges parallel with the shaft and" that would interfere with the smooth, quiet running. of the shaft, This is avoided by slanting the slit shown, so

' that the break produced by the slits is not felt by the shaft. I

It will thus be seen that'w'ehave 'pro vided an exceedingly simple and effective bearing for adjusting the supported shaft. After the governor shaft has been son-djusted that the worm 4t and the worm-gear 5 are in proper relation, it is immaterial that the chucks of the two eccentric bearings B are not in axial alignment, for any axial disarrangem'ent of the shaft 3 is automatically compensated by the universally adjustable balls 16. Referring". to Fig. 2", if we imagine the shaft 3 being turnedout of axial al'ignenient with the axis of the chuck, the bearing ball 16 will roll bodily in the chuck and so givethe shaft full bearing in any of its adjusted positions.

I It frequently happens in spring motors for phonographs, that the turntable shaft will after a time begin to wobble. That not only interferes with the proper playing of the record, but may affect the worm-gear connection between the turntable shaft and To prevent this wobbling we provide an adjustable bearing for the upperend of the turntable shaft, so that, whenever necessary, the bearing through which the shaft projects may be adjusted to talie up the side play of the shaft. v 1

Referring to Fig. 1, it will be seen that As best seen. from the enlarged viewof Fig.

5, the openingin the plate 22" consists of a cylindrical portion 23 and a conical or flaring portion 24;. Into this opening fits a bearing member of brass or similar material.

This bearing member, which I have indicated as a whole by P, consists of a screwthreaded cylindrical portion 25 and a flaring or conical portion 26 provided with a slit 27. The member P has acylindrical bearing opening 28, through which the turntable shaft 2 passes. With the bearing mem ber P co-operates an adjusting member in dicated as a whole by R, which is generally cylindrical in form, having an outside polygonal section 29, very much like a hexagonal nut, by means of which the member may be turned, as will be understood. At its lower inner end the member R has screw'threads 30 adapted to enter into engagement with the screw-threads 25 of the member P when the two parts are brought together. It will be clear from Fig. 1, that when the member R, which is in effect a hollow cylindrical nut, is screwed down, the bearing member P will be drawn up into the opening 23-24 of the plate 22. As the flaring portion 26 of the bearing member P is drawn into the flaring opening 2%, the bearing opening 28 is contracted an amount proportionate to the movement of the member P. The slot 27 in the flaring portion 26 renders the latter resilient and so permits this contraction. When, therefore, the operator finds that the turntable shaft 2 is wobbling, he simply gives the cylindrical nut R a slight turn by inserting a wrench over the polygonal section 29, until the bearing opening for the shaft is sufficiently reduced.

The member R performs the additional function of an oil-cup. So that, to keep the bearing well oiled, it is only necessary to pour a little lubricating oil into the hollow nut R, from which it will gradually seep into the bearing opening 28.

While we have thus set forth a specific construction, we would have it understood that we have done so merely to explain our invention and not by way of limitation. It is obvious that the features of our invention may be mechanically carried out in other ways than are shown and described.

lVhat we claim as our invention is:

1. In spring motors for phonographs and the like, an upright turntable shaft, a horizontal governor shaft geared to said turntable shaft and driven thereby, a pair of eccentric bearings for said governor shaft, said bearings being adjustable to regulate the lateral position of the governor shaft in relation to the turntable shaft, and a universally adjustable member carried by each bearing for receiving one end of the governor shaft, said members automatically adj Listing themselves to any lateral adjustment said bearings being adjustable to regulate the lateral position of the governor shaft in relation to the turntable shaft, and a bored ball carried by each bearing for receiving one end of the governor shaft, said bored balls being universally adjustable in said bearings to maintain a full bearing for the governor shaft in any adjusted position.

8. In spring motors for phonographs and the like, a frameworkor casting for the motor, an upright turntable shaft adapted to be driven by the motor spring and having a worm gear, a horizontal governor shaft having a wormin mesh with said wormgear, a pair of bearings mounted in said framework for supporting said governor shaft in operative relation to said turntable shaft, said bearings being rotatably adjustable and provided each with a hollow eccentric chuck, and a bored ball mounted in each chuck for receiving one end of the governor shaft, saidballs being universally adjustable in the chucks to maintain a full bearing for the governor shaft in any adjusted position.

4. As a new article of manufacture, an

adjustable bearing comprising a body portion, a chuck extending from said body portion, and a bored bearing ball mounted in said chuck so as to be universally adjustable therein and adapted to receive one end of a shaft, said ball being sufficiently resilient to permit ready insertion and removal of the ball into and from the chuck.

5. As a new article of manufacture, an adjustable bearing comprising a body por tion, a chuck extending from said body portion and a bored bearing ball mounted in said chuck so as to be universally adjustable therein and adapted to receive one end, of a shaft, said ball being split along a line diagonal to the axis of the hole in the ball to permit ready insertion and removal of the ball into and from said chuck.

Signed at the city of New York, in the county of New York, State of New York, this 3rd day of September, 1920.

ELMER E. VV-ILKINSON, SAUL ARONSON. 

